


One Ring

by Faline (rubberbisquit)



Series: The Best of Us [3]
Category: Jericho (US 2006)
Genre: F/M, go read the comics!, spoilers for seasons 3 and 4, we're canon!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2016-07-01
Packaged: 2018-07-19 12:14:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7361125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubberbisquit/pseuds/Faline
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marry me.</p>
<p>He gulped, trapping the words in his throat.  He had the ring in his pocket and he knew this was a great moment.  This was a perfect moment.  Yet, it couldn’t be a worse time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Ring

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ShirleyAnn66](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShirleyAnn66/gifts).



> I have no idea why Eric is suddenly co-star number one. I also don't think he was made the new sheriff in the comics but without Jake around, someone has to do it.

_Three weeks earlier_

They’d had a routine for the last couple of months.  Heather would always arrive at the army HQ in Jericho’s Sheriff’s office by 09:00, an hour after Beck himself.  They’d spend the morning reviewing order requests and troop movements, the unofficial kind.  After a lunch break, spent separately, they would reconvene for official A.S.A. reports and business, which many times included a daily video conference with Cheyanne.  He hated those the most; maintaining this false pretense of loyalty to the corrupt government took a heavy emotional toll. 

 

Him and Heather both needed breaks after those conference calls.

 

His defection meant he must always appear to be the perfect commander, even as he’d traveled to other army bases, other military installments, and slowly started to turn the A.S.A. army against itself.

 

He must appear irreproachable even as his feelings for Heather deepened, finally spilling over almost two months before, after Eric and Mary’s wedding. 

 

Before the wedding, and that _dance_ and the night that followed, Beck would head back to base by 18:00 to ensure he was available for evening reports from his CO’s.  They always included both official and unofficial notes and happenings from the region.  After the daily run-down he took an hour to unwind and then bed.  He’d kept a military schedule for so long that finding him awake past 21:00 indicated an emergency.

 

Since Eric and Mary had tied the knot, however, finding him asleep at 21:00 was just as likely as finding him in his tent at 21:00, which was to say, highly improbable.  Sure, Beck didn’t sneak off to Heather’s every night, but he did for most of them.  Sometimes she was home when he rapped quietly on the back door, waiting with a smile and some food.  Once he’d arrived and she’d been bare except for a flirty little apron.  Most of the time, though, he beat her home and waited in the dark, thinking of the things he would do to her that night.  The things she’d do to him. 

 

He rarely thought about anything beyond that night.  Not about the month after, the week after, hell many times not even the next day.  They were in the middle of a war.  He’d survived more wars than he cared to count by keeping things . . . immediate.

 

The engagement ring burning a hole in his pocket was an absolute deviation from his soldier’s ways.

 

The bells hanging above the door to Gracie Lee’s chimed and Beck glanced up from his inspection of the wines Dale had managed to trade for.  He gave Eric a nod, watching as the recently elected sheriff crossed to him.  “Sheriff.  How are you today?”

 

Eric gave him a tight smile.  “I’d be better if my new deputies would stop drinking my wife out of all her stock but other than that, pretty good.”  He nodded to the bottle of Merlot Beck was holding.  “Prepping for date night with Heather?”

 

Beck tried not to color.  He really did.  While his expression didn’t betray his surprise and alarm at Eric’s insinuation, his skin darkened and his ears burned.  “I’m not sure what you mean, Sherriff.”

 

That made Eric break out into laughter.  “Come on now, Major.  I know you two have been subtle, but we’re not blind.  And no one is surprised.  Not after the wedding.”  Beck sighed and the red on his cheeks darkened again.  Eric regarded Beck for another second, still smiling at his obvious discomfort.  “We’re happy for you, both of you. Really.”

 

He shifted uncomfortably under Eric’s humor but understood yet another olive branch when it was being extended.  “I appreciate that, truly.”  The bottle was cool in his hand.  “I wanted to make dinner tonight; something special for-“

 

“Heather’s birthday.  Yeah, the big 3-0 today.”

 

Beck nodded absently.  “Yeah, thirty.”  He was very stubbornly not thinking about the age gap between them.  He was, instead, still trying to remember what sort of wine he’d seen her drink.  Much like him, she’d always seemed to prefer whisky.  Sadly, his last bottle had disappeared with his loyalty to Cheyanne.  And now he wasn’t certain if he’d ever seen her imbibe wine at all.

 

Perhaps sensing his internal conflict, Eric grabbed a bottle of Cabernet from the shelf.  “I think she prefers a dry wine, when she’s drinking a red.”  He held it out.

 

Relief flooded through Beck as he gratefully swapped out the bottles.  “Now, everything will be fine if I can make it through dinner without burning anything.”  They both laughed and Beck gave Eric one more smile in thanks. 

 

He stepped into the sunlit street with light feet.  His lunch break was about over and he still needed to arrange flowers to be delivered later that day.

 

In the end it was easy for Beck to keep Heather away from her house long enough to prep dinner.  He asked Emily, who had known about them before Beck had even really known about them.  Emily promised to distract Heather, and yes keep her fairly sober.

 

He heard the front door and two laughing voices right as he was placing the salad on the table.  He was grinning when Heather entered her kitchen, her mouth dropped open in surprise.  Emily was hot on her heels but said a quick good bye.

 

“Beck!  This is-“ her eyes scanned the table and she hummed, pleased, as she inspected his offering.  “Dandelion salad?”  He nodded, still grinning.  “Beets, from Stanley I’m gonna guess.  Oh, wow, is that fresh bread?”  Another nod.  Her fingers ghosted over the pint jar of blackberry jam.  She paused, probably thinking of the moment he’d acquired the sweet spread.  Finally, she saw his most prized portion of the feast.

 

“Oh, god, is that meat?  Real meat?”

 

He was so smug in his self-satisfaction.  “Absolutely.  Rabbit.”

 

She turned shining eyes to him, her faced flushed with pleasure.  “I knew you weren’t in a meeting yesterday.  You went hunting, didn’t you?”

 

One more nod.  “I did.”

 

Heather’s laugh was delightful and his heart swelled.  Beck was so in love with her, so in love with the thought of her, here, laughing with joy because he remembered how to skin a bunny.  He turned to grab the wine but the feeling of her small hand sliding into his own made him pause.

 

When he glanced back at her, she’d stepped closer.  There were happy tears in her eyes, waiting to fall.  “Beck, thank you.  Thank you so much.”

 

He pressed a kiss to her mouth.  Even after the many nights he’d spent in her arms, exploring her body and learning to love again he still couldn’t get enough of her.  The taste and smell of her drove him wild with lust and was able to calm even his most foul moods.  Beck loved her, so so much.

 

“Happy birthday, Heather.” 

 

She beamed up at him.  “You’re amazing.  You’re amazing and I love you.”

 

_Marry me._

 

He gulped, trapping the words in his throat.  He had the ring in his pocket and he knew this was a great moment.  This was a perfect moment.  Yet, it couldn’t be a worse time.  There was no tomorrow right now, only Heather and this feast and the undoubtedly mind-blowing sex they’d be having within, oh, fifteen minutes by the look in her eyes.

 

When he spoke, he didn’t ask her to marry him.  He simply said, “I love you too.  Let me grab the wine and we’ll eat.”  That got him another delighted laugh.


End file.
